Almost all veterans have reported experiencing auditory hallucinations (e.g., hearing the voice of an enemy/deceased person, people screaming, explosions, and hearing their name being called). Among civilians living with PTSD, researchers have reported that approximately 67%⁹ experience auditory hallucinations.
Rare cases of PTSD may involve auditory hallucinations and paranoid ideation. Individuals who experience auditory hallucinations may experience tinnitus, a constant ringing in one's ears, or they may hear a voice or set of voices that are not physically present.
Among combat veterans with PTSD, 30% to 40% report auditory or visual hallucinations and/or delusions. The presence of psychotic symptoms in PTSD is associated with a more severe level of psychopathology, similar to that of chronic schizophrenia.
Psychosis Symptoms in PTSD
Some symptoms of PTSD can overlap with the occurrence of positive psychosis symptoms, such as visual hallucinations and hearing voices that are not there. Experiencing severe shock or violent and sudden death, such as in a war zone or domestic violence, are contributing factors.
They may be impulsive, acting before they think. Aggressive behaviors also include complaining, "backstabbing," being late or doing a poor job on purpose, self-blame, or even self-injury. Many people with PTSD only use aggressive responses to threat. They are not able to use other responses that could be more positive.
Chronic feelings of guilt, shame and self-blame. Feelings of emptiness. Difficulty forming and maintaining close relationships. Feeling as through no one understands you or what you've been through.
Olfactory and gustatory hallucinations occur when you smell or taste something that is not present. Delusions are ideas that you believe are true despite the fact that they may be unlikely or odd. For example, you might believe that the CIA is spying on you or that aliens are controlling your behaviors or thoughts.
In PTSD, the interpretation of intrusive symptoms such as flashbacks is seen as central to the maintenance of the disorder. In psychosis, hallucinations and delusional beliefs are interpretations of intrusions [9].
PTSD can cause similar symptoms to schizophrenia and may affect mood and cognition. If people have a history of trauma and are experiencing symptoms of schizophrenia or other mental health conditions, they will need to speak to a healthcare professional as soon as possible.
As a result of the sensory vision system's interconnections with the structures of the limbic system, blurry vision is a common symptom in PTSD patients.
The participants with PTSD initially showed reduced pupil constriction in response to a change in the light level. Previous studies⁴ have shown that disruptions of the pupil light reflex (PLR) are linked to dysfunction in the parasympathetic nervous system.
It Can Feel As If The Trauma Defines You
This trauma imprint creates 'tunnel vision' – all you see now is interpreted through the lens of your traumatic experience. The accompanying feelings of guilt, panic, shame, over-alertness to danger, anxiety and/or depression, can lead to a questioning of the traumatic events.
You may have hallucinations if you: hear sounds or voices that nobody else hears. see things that are not there like objects, shapes, people or lights. feel touch or movement in your body that is not real like bugs are crawling on your skin or your internal organs are moving around.
Hearing voices is the most common type of hallucination in people with these mental health conditions. Other mental health conditions that may cause hallucinations include: Bipolar disorder: People with bipolar disorder can experience hallucinations during both severe depressive or severe manic episodes.
PTSD can also trigger psychotic symptoms. Not everyone with the condition will experience them, but studies with veterans indicate that between 30 and 40 percent have hallucinations, delusions, or both. Some experts advocate for a sub-type of PTSD, known as PTSD-SP, or PTSD with secondary psychotic features.
Signs of early or first-episode psychosis
Hearing, seeing, tasting or believing things that others don't. Persistent, unusual thoughts or beliefs that can't be set aside regardless of what others believe. Strong and inappropriate emotions or no emotions at all. Withdrawing from family or friends.
People with psychosis typically experience delusions (false beliefs, for example, that people on television are sending them special messages or that others are trying to hurt them) and hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that others do not, such as hearing voices telling them to do something or criticizing them).
Auditory Verbal Hallucinations (AVHs) are commonly associated with psychosis but are also reported in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Hearing voices after the experience of stress has been conceptualised as a dissociative experience.
PTSD is characterized by specific symptoms, including intrusive thoughts, hyperarousal, flashbacks, nightmares, and sleep disturbances, changes in memory and concentration, and startle responses.
Types of delusions include persecutory, erotomanic , grandiose , jealous, somatic, and mixed/unspecific.
If left untreated, complex PTSD can become life-threatening. It raises the risk of developing anxiety, depression, addictive behavior, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts. Chronic pain, fatigue, and changes in eating and sleeping patterns are all possible physical health problems.